Brown butter crumbs complete the nutty and toasty flavour bomb. The cauliflower is cradled in a bed of romesco sauce then showered with clouds of finely grated parmesan. Parmesan grating action in the open kitchen The orders for roast cauliflower are relentlessly coming out of the kitchen, roasted whole until the florets tinge to a golden brown. If you ever needed proof that everything tastes better with cheese, this is it. Roast cauliflower with romesco, parmesan and brown butter crumbs $15 Tip of the day: save the comeback sauce for the curly fries you'll devour later on. They're fried to a glorious shatter of crunch, best smothered in the smoky, spicy and creamy comeback sauce that, yes, will have you coming back for more. First up they're mid-wings, a unanimous vote for favourite wing part. You'll get nine smoked hot wings with comeback sauce, but really it's only public politeness that stops each of us from grabbing the entire bowl for ourselves. Smooth and silky mashed avocado is made sweeter with the juicy pop of baby peas, scooped up into triangles of crunchy tortilla chips. I'd been sceptical at the idea of pea guacamole when I read it on the menu, but this one really is a winner. It's livened with chunks of fresh pineapple and celery, a hit of spicy jalapeno and the salty crunch of deep-fried corn kernels. The ceviche of kingfish kicks things off with a bang, the fish lightly cured so the flesh still retains its plump springiness. Our birthday lunch booking for fourteen ends up split across two tables, but between the eight of us we manage to cover significant menu real estate. With jalapeno, celery, pineapple and crispy corn They even have lactose-friendly smoothies, made with coconut milk and passionfruit and blitzed into a tall glassful of summer. They've covered all bases here - although the focus is on smoked barbecue meats, there are enough vegetarian dishes ( fried pimentos, empanadas with wild greens, (not a) chopped salad and roast cauliflower) to keep almost everyone happy. Head chefs Chris Hogarth and Patrick Friesen run the kitchen here, backed by executive chef Dan Hong who conceived much of the original menu after a whirlwind trip through the USA. Passionfruit and coconut milk smoothie $10 The bar looks straight out of New Orleans yet they've also cleverly interwoven a casual beach feel that makes punters feel right at home. The space is bright and airy, mixing up booth seating with high bench tables and stools that overlook Manly wharf. Papi Chulo is a Merivale stablemate and the venue is as slick as you'd expect from Hemmes' crew. You'll want to eat here with at least three meat-loving mates if you have any intention on making a dent on the menu. You'll find both at Papi Chulo, a mash-up of American smokehouse meets Brazilian cantina spiced up with some Latin American influence too. Keep an eye out for your local listings.Meat. Zimmern’s Lechonera La Piraña episode will air on the Travel Channel in June. Then there are plenty of the pastelillos and ensalada de camarones to round things out and keep customer’s plates overflowing. Of course Papi Chulo’s menu doesn’t stop at lechón, and Zimmern was particularly smitten with his arroz con gandules, hailing their perfection in a recent interview with the Daily News. He also happens to make a mean lechón, attracting pork fanatics from across the five boroughs each weekend and selling upwards of 500 pounds of meat before closing up shop for the week. Papi Chulo believes in his neighborhood and views his food truck as a way to strengthen community bonds in the beleaguered, crime-ridden South Bronx. Lechonera La Piraña is run by Aguadilla, Puerto Rico-native Angel “Papi Chulo” Jiménez, who sets up shop on the weekends when he’s off from his day job as a heating and air-conditioning tech. Sure, it’s not the prettiest sight, but lechón asado is a cherished centerpiece of many of our celebratory dishes, and it’s making its way to mainstream America’s collective living room as part of the Travel Channel program Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.įor his show, Zimmern has trekked the globe trying everything from rectal sausage in Kazakhstan to Jewish kishke on the streets of Philadelphia, and one episode the program’s upcoming season will be dedicated to a modest foodtruck parked on an unassuming - some might even say rough-around-the-edges - Mott Haven block in the South Bronx. That is, unless you’re from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Hawaii, Indonesia, Philippines, or even parts of the American South. There’s nothing more bizarre than a suckling pig roasting on a spit with its cold, blackened eyes staring impassively toward nothing in particular.